Off the grill and under the hood: Flint's Mass Transportation Authority looks to put 50 propane mini buses to work

GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan -- Burned by fast-rising diesel fuel prices, the Mass Transportation
Authority is aiming to be the first transit agency in Michigan to put
propane-powered buses on the road.

MTA plans to buy as many as 50 small, propane-burning buses and put
them into service as early as next summer, shifting away from earlier
plans to use a $5 million federal grant to pay for new compressed
natural gas vehicles.

View full sizeJoseph Tobianski | Flint JournalBuses enter the Mass Transit Authority station in Flint on Tuesday afternoon. MTA is preparing to become the first transit agency in Michigan to put propane powered vehicles on the road.

Diesel fuel is costing the MTA so much more than expected that officials are scrambling to find more revenue or to cut costs in the next six months to avoid finishing the fiscal year in the red.

The small propane buses are slightly larger than the Your Ride vans they will replace.

“The use of propane is proven. ... I feel propane is going to be a winner,” said Ed Benning, MTA chief of staff, who added that the agency will issue a request for proposals to supply the new vehicles in a matter of weeks.

Benning said the sooner the MTA can move away from diesel fuel, the better its finances will be. He said the transit agency can get more for its money by investing in propane instead of compressed gas now.

The MTA budget for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1 projected diesel fuel would cost an average of $2.20 per gallon. Instead, the agency last week was paying $3.42 per gallon.

Propane fuel for vehicles can cost about $1.50 per gallon and qualify for federal incentives worth up to 50 cents per gallon, as well.

“We are going to transition away from all diesel. ... We want to move away from it totally,” said Benning, who oversees an agency with a 360-vehicle fleet, including 18 Your Ride vehicles that run on regular unleaded gasoline.

Benning said the MTA is in position to be the first transit agency in the state to use propane to power vehicles, but the technology has been tested elsewhere and proved successful.

Vehicles burn the same propane used in home heating, and vehicles are outfitted with double-walled steel tanks to carry the fuel.

In Georgia’s Carroll County, about 20 sheriff’s office vehicles fueled by propane already are in use, with another 16 to come.

Capt. Ken Reeves said the Caroll County sheriff made the move to save taxpayers money in the long run.

“There’s no downside yet,” Reeves said. “We’ve had some bugs and bumps, but it’s working out well.

FerrellAutogas says on its website that 14 million vehicles worldwide run on propane — including hundreds of thousands of school buses, police vehicles and taxis, all of which use special fuel tanks and undergo other modifications.

Benning said MTA remains committed to a project in which Kettering University staff and students are converting a large bus into an electric vehicle, but that project has not been completed.

MTA also has let a contract to build an alternate fueling station in Grand Blanc Township. That station will be able to refuel compressed gas and propane vehicles.

The $3.5 million fueling station will be a test site for Kettering engineering professors and students who are researching the feasibility of generating hydrogen for fuel — and possibly fuel cells someday.